Immigration: Grounds of Inadmissibility

Updated July 29, 2024

Immigration: Grounds of Inadmissibility

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), aliens

may be denied admission to the United States or face other

adverse immigration consequences if they are inadmissible.

(The INA defines an “alien” as any person not a citizen or

national of the United States.) Immigration officials from

different agencies make inadmissibility determinations in

various contexts, including, for instance, when adjudicating

an application for a nonimmigrant (temporary) or

immigrant (permanent) visa to come to the United States,

when inspecting aliens arriving at U.S. ports of entry or

encountered within the country after entering without

inspection, when considering an application to adjust to

lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, or when

determining eligibility for certain forms of relief from

removal. This In Focus provides a brief overview of the

grounds of inadmissibility.

Health-Related Grounds

The INA bars the admission of aliens who (1) have

communicable diseases of public health significance, (2)

are applying for immigrant visas or adjustment to LPR

status and lack required vaccinations, (3) are determined to

have physical or mental disorders with associated harmful

behavior, or (4) are found to be drug abusers or addicts.

These limitations are subject to waivers and exceptions.

Criminal and Related Grounds

The INA prohibits the admission of certain criminal aliens,

including, for example, those who have committed crimes

of moral turpitude, those with two or more criminal

convictions (other than purely political offenses) for which

the aggregate sentences were five years or more of

imprisonment, controlled substance traffickers, those

engaged in prostitution or commercialized vice, human

traffickers, and money launderers. There are exceptions in

certain situations. For instance, the crime of moral turpitude

ground of inadmissibility does not apply to those who

committed the crime before the age of 18 and who

committed the crime and were released from imprisonment

more than five years before their application for a

visa/admission. Additionally, some criminal grounds of

inadmissibility may be waived in certain circumstances.

Security and Related Grounds

The INA prohibits the admission of aliens who have

engaged in terrorist activity, are considered likely to engage

in terrorist activity, have incited terrorist activity, endorse

or espouse terrorist activity (or persuade others to), have

received military-type training from a terrorist organization,

are representatives or members of (or associated with) a

terrorist organization, are representatives of a group that

endorses or espouses terrorist activity, or are the spouses or

children of persons inadmissible on terrorist-related

grounds based on activity occurring within the last five

years (subject to exception). The INA defines “terrorist

activity” to include certain unlawful activities, such as the

hijacking or sabotage of any conveyance, the detention of a

person in order to compel a governmental organization to

do or abstain from a certain act, assassination, and the use

of a weapon of mass destruction. The INA defines “engage

in terrorist activity” to cover a wide range of activities, such

as committing terrorist activity, soliciting funds for terrorist

activity, and providing material support to terrorist

organizations. Some of the terrorist grounds of

inadmissibility may be waived in certain circumstances.

With some exceptions, the INA also prohibits the admission

of aliens who seek to enter the United States to engage in

activities related to espionage or sabotage, the violation of

certain export laws, the violent opposition to or overthrow

of the U.S. government, or other unlawful activity; aliens

whose entry or activities in the United States could

adversely affect U.S. foreign policy; members of the

Communist or any other totalitarian party; participants in

Nazi persecution, genocide, or acts of torture or

extrajudicial killing; and those who have recruited or used

child soldiers.

Public Charge Grounds

With some exceptions, the INA makes aliens who are

“likely at any time to become a public charge”

inadmissible. The INA does not define the term public

charge; the definition has been set forth by agency

guidance and regulation. It is currently defined as a person

who is or is likely to become primarily dependent on public

cash assistance or government-funded institutionalization

for long-term care. When making public charge

determinations, immigration officers consider the foreign

national’s past, current, or future receipt of Supplemental

Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families (TANF), state and local cash assistance (general

assistance); and benefits provided for institutionalized longterm care. They also consider age, health, family status,

assets, resources, financial status, education, and skills.

Labor Certification and Qualifications for Certain

Immigrants Grounds

The INA bars certain aliens who seek to enter the United

States to perform skilled or unskilled labor unless the

Secretary of Labor certifies that there are not sufficient U.S.

workers who are able, willing, and qualified to perform

such work, and that the alien’s employment will not

adversely affect the wages and working conditions of

similarly employed U.S. workers. Some classes of aliens

are exempt from labor certification (e.g., permanent

immigrants entering as priority workers who are persons of

extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education,

business, or athletics), and this ground of inadmissibility

can be waived in some cases. Some INA provisions also bar

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Immigration: Grounds of Inadmissibility

the admission of certain “unqualified physicians” and

uncertified health care workers, unless an exception applies.

Illegal Entrants and Immigration Violators Grounds

The INA specifies eight categories of inadmissible illegal

entrants and immigration violators: (1) aliens present in the

United States without being admitted or paroled, or who

arrive in the United States at any time or place other than as

designated (there are exceptions for certain battered spouses

and children); (2) aliens who “without reasonable cause”

fail to attend their removal proceedings and who seek

admission within five years of their departure or removal;

(3) alien who have, by fraud or willful misrepresentation of

a material fact, sought to procure or have procured

admission into the United States or a benefit under the INA

(unless they qualify for a waiver); (4) aliens who falsely

represent themselves to be U.S. citizens for any purpose or

benefit under the INA or any other federal or state law,

except under narrow circumstances; (5) stowaways; (6)

human smugglers (subject to waiver); (7) aliens subject to

civil penalties for document fraud under INA Section 274C

(subject to waiver); and (8) student visa abusers who have

been outside the United States for less than five years.

Documentation Requirements Grounds

The INA makes aliens seeking admission as immigrants

(i.e., LPRs) inadmissible if they lack a valid immigrant

visa, reentry permit, border crossing identification card, or

other valid entry document, and a valid unexpired passport

or other suitable travel document. Aliens seeking admission

as nonimmigrants (e.g., temporary workers) are

inadmissible if they lack a passport valid for a minimum of

six months from the date of the expiration of the initial

period of their admission to the United States or they lack a

valid nonimmigrant visa or border crossing identification

card. Immigration officials have authority to waive these

documentation requirements in some cases (e.g., for those

traveling under the Visa Waiver Program).

Ineligibility for Citizenship Grounds

The INA makes certain aliens who are “ineligible for

citizenship” inadmissible. Although this language may

suggest a range of ineligibilities linked to the INA’s

naturalization provisions, its actual effect is to bar the entry

of individuals who deserted their U.S. military service or

evaded the military draft (LPRs are eligible to enlist in the

U.S. Armed Forces).

Aliens Who Were Previously Removed or Accrued

Unlawful Presence Grounds

Under the INA, certain aliens who were previously

removed or accrued unlawful presence in the United States

are inadmissible. First, aliens who have been previously

removed are inadmissible for 5, 10, or 20 years depending

on the specifics of their case, and they are permanently

inadmissible if convicted of an aggravated felony. Second,

aliens who were unlawfully present in the United States for

more than 180 days but less than one year, and departed the

United States before the commencement of formal removal

proceedings, are inadmissible for three years; and those

who were unlawfully present for one year or more are

inadmissible for 10 years after the date of their departure or

removal (some periods do not count toward the accrual of

unlawful presence, including any period when the alien is

under the age of 18 or has a pending asylum application,

and this bar does not apply to certain battered spouses and

children and victims of trafficking). Third, aliens who enter

or attempt to reenter the United States without authorization

after accruing more than one year of unlawful presence in

the United States or after being ordered removed are

permanently inadmissible.

These grounds of inadmissibility can be waived in some

circumstances, depending on the facts of the case and the

specific ground being applied (e.g., if the DHS Secretary

“has consented to the alien’s reapplying for admission”).

Miscellaneous Grounds

The INA contains “miscellaneous” grounds of

inadmissibility applicable to aliens who (1) are seeking

admission as LPRs and coming to the United States to

practice polygamy; (2) are required to accompany (as

guardians) aliens who are inadmissible and certified to be

helpless from sickness, mental or physical disability, or

infancy; (3) unlawfully withhold custody of a U.S. citizen

child abroad from a person granted custody of the child by

a U.S. court or who assist or are certain relatives of the

child abductor (subject to certain exceptions); (4) have

voted in violation of any federal, state, or local

constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation

(subject to exception); or (5) are former U.S. citizens who

officially renounced their citizenship to avoid taxation.

Suspension of Entry

The INA also authorizes the President “to suspend the entry

of all aliens or any class of aliens” whenever the President

“finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens

into the United States would be detrimental to the interests

of the United States.” Presidential Administrations have

invoked this authority on many occasions—for example, to

restrict the entry of nationals of certain countries that

inadequately shared information and presented national

security concerns, and to suspend entry of aliens arriving by

air from certain countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Waiver Authority for Nonimmigrants

Immigration officials can also waive most grounds of

inadmissibility for aliens seeking to enter the United States

temporarily as nonimmigrants (e.g., tourists). This waiver

authority does not cover aliens who are inadmissible under

certain security-related grounds (e.g., espionage activity).

Immigration officials can also waive inadmissibility, except

for certain grounds, for aliens seeking nonimmigrant status

as victims of trafficking or specified crimes.

Parole of Applicants for Admission

The INA authorizes immigration officials to parole an alien

seeking admission who is otherwise inadmissible into the

United States temporarily “on a case-by-case basis for

urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”

While parole does not constitute an admission to the United

States, DHS has utilized this authority extensively to allow

many applicants for admission to enter the United States for

certain periods of time and for specific reasons.

Abigail F. Kolker, Analyst in Immigration Policy

Hillel R. Smith, Legislative Attorney

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Immigration: Grounds of Inadmissibility

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Disclaimer

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